The set up
It is the end of a difficult day which felt blue and hard since the moment I woke up. I’ve just had an invigorating, warm and rejuvenating mini gas with my beloved Yorkshire best friend which was the perfect pill to soothe my day’s blues pain and make me feel like myself again. I’ve lighted my candles, I’ve put on a wonderful jazz music compilation on Spotify, I’ve got a nice bowl of fresh strawberries and feel perfectly set to write about my walking back into a cuddle over the weekend that has just gone.
You may ask what made my day blue and hard and what was it that my Yorkshire best friend said to me to take it all away. Well…in my usual mode of being too hard on myself, ever since I opened my eyes this morning I felt that I’m not doing enough, I was cross with myself for wanting things which are out of my reach but don’t pull my weight to even attempt to reach them and overall I had a sense all day as I was trying to swim against the biggest waves one can imagine and not admitting that it is best to keep ashore but instead raring on and running out steam.
To all this my Yorkshire best friend just simply reminded me to be kinder to myself and allow me the benefit of realising that the challenges that the pandemic has thrown to us in our work and private lives has driven out of proportion our actions, our thoughts and that without our pre-pandemic coping measures it is very natural to have a day that everything seems to be against you. As a way of lightening up our conversation I told her about how an evening and a day in my Hampstead Suite and the Heath with my Highgate friend felt like I was away for three whole days and just like that my smile returned back to my face and my heart became warm again. I need to add that a small rebellion against my drinking- on- weekdays-rules with the last glass of a wonderful Chillean Sauvignon Blanc also contributed to regaining my warmth!
The ease of lockdown
After about ten weeks of strict rules with regards our daily movement and travel restrictions within near or far proximity of our home boundaries, the day came that finally we were told that we could travel by car to visit a member of family or a friend as long as we observe the appropriate social distancing two-metre rules. It would be wrong to admit that it felt like a prisoner that is released from his sentence and allowed to return back to life as we had a lot more privileges and less depravations or challenges. I do wonder though that perhaps there may be a few similarities in the sense of emotions that the news evoked.
Elation, happiness, excitement and a sense of hope were the first few emotions that I felt. Despite not believing in the lockdown in the first place, I was a strict observer of the rules and didn’t do anything against them. And from my previous descriptions on the effects of it you will be familiar of how it impacted my life. It will be of no surprise then to you to know that within seconds I was on the phone with my Highgate and Persian friend, both of who live in London, arranging to meet up. We were all keen to see each other again and we gave it no second thoughts into making plans on when we would reunite. For all of us that was the easiest and most straightforward part of the entire venture. For me it wasn’t a notion of instant return to normal life but it was a very welcomed window of respite from seclusion and isolation.
My first reunion with my Persian friend
Knowing that I would be visiting my dear Persian friend and her husband again on Sunday afternoon for a light lunch and a walk in Stanmore Park was almost surreal. It came with mixed feelings of how it would be to keep social distancing rules without being tempted to hug her, what would she think and expect from me in terms of keeping the rules and whether I remembered how to drive to her house! Despite my happiness all week on the run up to our reunion on the Sunday morning I felt quite nervous and out of place. I kept checking the route on google maps of what is a ridiculously easy drive, and wondering if I still knew how to drive.
And so the time came for me to start my journey to Stanmore. I got into my Ulysses (my blue A1 Audi) and despite my fears it all came back to me the moment I turned on the engine. My bond with him was instant as if we’ve never stopped driving together and with limited traffic, we made it easily to Stanmore and my friend’s house. I stepped out of the car with such happiness and apprehension at seeing my beloved friend after so many months. Something that in other times would feel natural and normal, became such a special surreal occasion. We both had a few seconds of bewilderment, trying to figure out a way to connect without actually hugging but our faces and heart where full of all the emotions of being re-united.
After our initial hesitations of what to do and how to behave we relaxed and fell into our normal habit of exchanging news and sharing our experiences through a sun-kissed lunch in my friend’s beautiful garden that was followed by a long walk into Stanmore park which was followed by a delicious chocolate cheesecake. It was simply wonderful to spend time with my friend and her husband in this lovely and simple yet so rewarding set-up. When the time came for me to return home it was with heavy heart that I did so, but knowing that we would be meeting again soon made it somehow bearable.
Walking into a friendly cuddle
My second re-union was with my Highgate friend to celebrate my thirteen years for life in the UK. An anniversary that I celebrate every year on the 7 June to give thanks to a country which gave me a new home and opened up new opportunities for me to grow and thrive. As it was such a special occasion it required a special weekend at my beloved Hampstead Suite.
In addition to looking forward to seeing my friend after such a long time, the preparation for it created a delightful space for some happy moments. Looking for a nice M&S dessert treat for us to have, searching for the perfect wine that my friend would like, wrapping up his watecolour commission that I painted for him, preparing my overnight bag which had almost given up on ever being used again, putting on my make-up and choosing what to wear. These small happy moments gave me a sense of normality and giddiness. I took a little bit longer time than necessary while undertaking these preparatory tasks, savouring the pleasant feelings it evoked on me and appreciating that I have been taking too much for granted these in the past. It is natural though to have realised this because of the lockdown, as it is only when you experience loss that you remember to appreciate what you’ve had. No matter how hard I make a point to myself of feeling grateful for these special occasions whenever they occur, the loss of them in the past months was a strong reminder to not forget again than nothing should be taken for granted.
Let me not rumble on though for too long. What’s important is that on a Saturday evening at 5pm, I was ringing on my friend’s doorbell with a fast beating heart and not quite believing that we finally would meet again. The door, the elevator, the smells were all familiar but a distant memory. I reached the second floor and the door was half open as always waiting for me to step into the magic of the Hampstead Suite. With a few steps I walked in and there was the warmest cuddle waiting for me and the happy and bright face of my Highgate friend. No words are enough to describe the sensation of a friend’s hug, especially one that happens after such a big gap. Wonderful, amazing, warm, reassuring, comfortable, familiar, safe are a few but not enough.
I can’t say that I felt as if it was only yesterday that we were together. When we questioned when was the last time we saw each other and discovered it was February we both realised that it felt like a lifetime ago. And because of this our reunion coinciding with my anniversary was quite a precious occasion. It made me truly happy and content to see my friend’s delighted face in the small treats I brought with me, especially his enthusiasm and praise about the watercolours. My reward came in the form of multiple warm and genuine hugs that we kept giving to each other to cover the luck of all the ones we missed.
We had a lovely dinner with prosecco followed by a sumptuous desert and we talked the night away, or it’s best to say that I talked non-stop until our eyes couldn’t stay open anymore and reluctantly, we called it a day. We woke up surprisingly early and enjoyed a simple yet wonderful breakfast with hazelnut coffee and toast with Australian honey. As it was a lovely sunny summer morning, we went for our favourite pastime of walking to explore the Heath which I missed so much. I loved the energy and strength that I had, much of which is due to the daily morning walks and weekend bike rides that I’ve been doing. For the first time I felt in tune with the walking pace of my friend without feeling out of breath as I did in previous walks we did together.
I am not sure if we ever walked at the Heath so early. One would expect it to be quiet and recovering from the previous nights’ visitors but this was not the case. It was heaving with early morning walkers and runners like us. Quite an extraordinary observation for me as I was making the comparison with Greek habits, where no respectable Greek would imagine being out and about at such an early time on a Sunday morning. At nine in the morning, they wouldn’t have even been out of bed or had coffee! Nevertheless, the Heath was gorgeous more so because I was seeing it with fresh eyes. We went through the Kenwood estate which was open at last and my friend took me to see the spot where he took the photo that I’ve painted for him. We walked and walked and I just kept taking in the scenery and enjoying sharing it with my friend. I wanted to see everything so I asked my friend to take us to the Pergola. It was closed but it was good to see it was there and it meant that we reached Hampstead Village too. There were only just a few shops open, a bakery with a long queue, a flower shop, a coffee shop but not much else. Memories of other times that we’ve been there surfaced on both our minds and for one more time the craziness of the lockdown didn’t make sense to us.
What started as a lazy morning walk ended up into a seven-mile walking expedition as I kept asking can we go there, can we see this, will you take me there. My friend patiently indulged me and took me everywhere and showed me everything. I think I probably wore him out a bit but he never complained but I think he was glad when we finally returned back to the Suite! I indulged in another cup of the fragrant and delicious hazelnut coffee and relaxed for a little while trying to find the will to depart and return home. Strangely enough it was only midday but it felt like it was late afternoon…a feeling you get when you have a good time and enjoying yourself to the full. We gave each other another warm friendly hug to say goodbye, savouring it so much as in these strange times that we live in, one doesn’t know if it might be the last one before another lockdown! That was the end of my walking into a cuddle weekend.
The epilogue
We will have to wait for symptoms to appear in the next seven days to see if our cuddle or our encounters with other humans at the Heath has infected us with the corona virus. I can tell you for sure thought that even if we get the all clear from corona, there is definitely another very contagious or infectious bug that we definitely passed on to each other…the bug of friendship. Luckily its symptoms are the complete opposite of deadly and they last for a very long time!
Walks and Smiles 